getSource: Fortune
Summary
Jan van Hövell, a former mergers and acquisitions lawyer, quit his job to build sports clubhouses in refugee camps. His social enterprise, KLABU, has launched 10 clubhouses across the world, with a waiting list of 20 more. The clubhouses provide equipment and community for refugees, who often stay in camps for 21 years. KLABU has partnered with major brands like Paris Saint-Germain and Adidas to fund its operations.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story. KLABU’s rapid expansion to 10 clubhouses in just a few years is impressive, but the waiting list of 20 more camps is a stark reminder of the scale of the problem. Van Hövell’s ambition to surpass Bayern Munich’s membership and become the largest sports club in the world is bold, but it’s the small details that reveal the true impact of KLABU’s work: a €1 per month membership program, unique badges and kits for each clubhouse, and a goal to reach two million refugees by 2050. The announcement sounds familiar – a social enterprise disrupting the status quo – but the context is starkly different.
Author: Evan Null
